My fourth session as your state Senator began on January 11th! As always, it is an incredible honor to do the people’s work down in Richmond, and I’m humbled by the trust you have placed in me to represent your interests. I’d like to give you a bit of an overview of some of the highlights of my legislative agenda this year, as well as the budget amendments I’ll be carrying.

 

SB824: I have the great honor to chair the Substance Abuse Services Council (SASC), which studies and provides recommendation to the General Assembly on the issue of substance abuse. My bill, SB824, would broaden the scope of the SASC, changing the name to the Virginia Addiction Recovery Council and adding problem gambling to the scope of the council. I hope that this bill will allow the council to tackle other forms of addictive behavior and help the families affected by it.

 

SB1071: As a 26-year Air Force veteran, supporting our veteran community in Virginia is one of my top priorities. This bill will add military service members transitioning from military to civilian life and their family members to the list of persons who can seek mental health and rehabilitative services through the Virginia Department of Veterans Services. The transition from military to civilian life can be difficult for many, and this assistance can be crucial for many families.

 

SB1072: Last year, I was approached by a family in our district who had tragically lost their beloved son to suicide due to bullying. Together, we brought up this bill, SB1072, which would require schools to notify parents within 24 hours of a bullying incident so that families can provide crucial emotional support to their children. 

 

SB1249: This bill will put a stop to people getting scammed by ticket resellers who engage in speculative ticketing -- in other words, reselling tickets that they do not actually have. If passed, this bill would ensure that any resellers would have to disclose specific information about the tickets, and provide a full refund if they are unable to get the tickets to the purchaser.

 

SB1313: This is a bill that I've been working on for two sessions now that ensures that any subcontractors who get hired for construction work will get paid for the work that they do. In the past, subcontractors have lost thousands of dollars due to not getting paid for the work they've done, and this bill should finally put a stop to it.

 

SJ230: I represent a large and thriving Asian American and Pacific Islander community here in the 13th District. Unfortunately, there has been an alarming uptick in the amount of hate crimes and racially-motivated crimes against the AAPI community. This joint resolution will direct the Virginia State Crime Commission to study the increase in AAPI hate crimes, and hopefully lead us to the right path to take to eliminate these hate crimes.

 

In addition to these bills, I am carrying several budget amendments.

I am seeking:

 

• $2.8 million in funds to provide audiobook solutions to help children with reading deficits;
• $1 million to help close a budget shortfall for the Adler Hospice Center in Aldie, which helps to provide palliative care to terminally ill adults and children;
• $2.5 million for cannabis youth prevention programs, which will be more important than ever as we move towards legal marijuana sales; and
• $2.75 million to continue and expand the operation of the FAACT (Framework for Addiction Analysis and Community Transformation), a cross-agency platform that assists localities, agencies, and service providers in addressing and mitigating the opioid and substance use crisis.

 

To read about all of my bills and budget amendments this year and track them through the legislative process, you can visit my page on LIS.